this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2023
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Python

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[question] Python for Kids (lemmy.ml)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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What's the best way to teach my kid programming. I don't know how. He's interested. He's done well in school with Scratch. He's expressed interest in Python, owns a Thumby, but never gets too far on his own. Instead of a Winter sport, we're leaning towards a Python class, however there's none in person. How can i help my kid embrace his passion and learn this skill which will help him his whole life.

He's got Mu installed and has perused youtube tutorials, but they dont hold his interest. Any help is appreciated. Edit: He's 10.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (8 children)

Python is a great first language. Websites can be a lot of fun, because all you really need is an html file for your browser to read. It gets arbitrarily complex but is simple at first, to do layouts and styles. I used to make little text adventure games as a kid, "go left" "attack monster" kinda stuff with hit points and a town

https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming is an epic free resource / course, with interactivity. Not for Python specifically, but for coding fundamentals, and includes little interactive stuff

Brilliant is also quite successful, and they are really trying to keep it simple, with visual coding

Overall, I'm not too sure what a 10 year old can absorb, but probably more than expected

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Seconding the linked Khan Academy course, i taught a class for a few years that followed those lessons. The lessons are a little outdated, but they’re perfectly suitable for learning fundamental JS syntax.

The visual aspect, imo, is super helpful when first learning. Being able to see the results of your code makes understanding what’s happening way easier. Additionally, those lessons provide hints and friendly reminders to help with syntax errors.

Those lessons in particular use a JS library called P5.js if you want to play around with it outside of the Khan Academy environment. More than enough for making a simple game, and the documentation is pretty great too.

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